Get your Tom Brady Pants On

With all the birthday hub-bub, I failed to mention anything about the Superbowl. Henry is quite the football fan. It's kind of ridiculous actually. Months ago when he started to get into watching NFL games and college games with Justin, I thought it was just he wanting to do what dad does. But then one evening when he watched the entire Army v Navy game ALL BY HIMSELF, I knew that his fandom transcended any sort of "I wanna be like you dad" sentiment. Most mornings he would ask me to check the scores of the last night's games (he has to go to bed before they are over). I've googled sports scores way more than I care to admit. He's picked out a few teams he's loyal to: Green Bay and BYU. Any other games he'll switch who he's cheering for to whichever team in winning.

He's constantly barraging Justin with questions about win/loss stats and the difference between college and NFL teams. "Is Michigan a college team? What's their name?" He keeps his own tally sheets for their scores and will run upstairs to tell Justin what just happened. He's trying so hard to put colleges/cities/mascots all in order in his 5-year-old brain. "That's a Dad question, bud. You'll have to wait for Dad to get home." He has tested my football knowledge and I've discovered I know more than I want to.

So you can imagine what a big deal the Superbowl was to this kid. His beloved Packers did not make it so he jumped on the Patriots bandwagon.

During the 4th quarter (or whenever it was) when the Patriots finally showed up and the game was getting close and exciting (do you love my detail here?) Justin said, "Better get your Tom Brady pants on" as a way to say "Don't mess up Patriots, you have a chance." Henry said, "I have pants like that!" and ran upstairs.

He came down dressed like this:

We all got a pretty good laugh. Nearly 3 weeks later, Henry still calls these his Tom Brady pants and any pants like them. "Hey Mom, you have Tom Brady pants too." I love this kid. Hate football but love this kid. And if you hear us say, "Get your Tom Brady pants on" it just means get ready to play to win.

Erica took this picture of some of her prized possessions.

James is super happy on his changing table. I haven't figured out what it is about this spot that my babies love.

For Valentines Day, in keeping with tradition, I got my kids each their own bag of candy and a new book.

Sarah got a Ramona book and was the only one who would pose for the camera. Erica got Little Critter and the New Baby, Henry got Nate the Great and James got Where is the Green Sheep?

Then it turned into a dance party like most nights do right before bedtime.

Erica put on this headband and Henry's sunglasses but declared she didn't want anyone to look at her. She was mad I was taking pictures.

So we started doing this last week. B-bye 10-year-old cheap carpet.

I can't tell you how happy it made me to see this stuff torn to pieces and hauled out of here.

This guy right here deserves all the credit. He doesn't like home renovation projects so this is all done out of love for me.

We also took out the wainscoting in the kitchen and I repainted the walls.

Oh man, no turning back now!

Justin's dad and brothers have been over to help. We borrowed saws from my dad and a friend so this is definitely a group effort. I am not as much help as I wanted to be with a cold, sick kids, and a baby for that matter.

Tuesday night the wind and rain came in so we had to move the saws to the garage. The couches are in there so that put an end to cutting. This is where my fridge has been since Tuesday night.

And my oven is in the living room.

And these pretty things lining the walls.

But it's all been worth it. I hope after this weekend I'll be able to share some finished photos.

Now I gotta go make some pancake batter for dinner. I've only had a crockpot, a toaster, and an electric griddle to cook with for a few days.